Size 28 to 16
SINCE she was a child, Barbara Greenwood had suffered massive problems with her weight. “I would binge and diet, binge and diet, and decades of dieting achieved nothing because any weight I lost went straight back on again,” says Barbara, from Mansfield.
“My heaviest weight was 22 stone (308 pounds), a size 30, and life was becoming intolerable because I struggled to cut my toenails or put my shoes and socks on.”
Then she discovered Slimpods on the internet – and in less than a year had lost 84lbs and dropped from a size 28 to a size 16*. “Within a few days I was leaving food on my plate, declining biscuits with no struggle at all, and soon had to give myself smaller portions.
“I no longer binge eat, seldom eat enough that I feel stuffed, and I find that I can enjoy small amounts of treats without putting weight back on. What’s good is that I’m not on a diet pursuing a particular weight.
“My aim is to be a size, not a weight, and I’m only eating what my body tells me it needs. This is a much more natural way of losing weight and less stressful than a diet,”
Have you ever seen a happier looking lady than Barbara, who has discovered a new world of fashion, colour and style. “Being size 16 is brilliant, a new lease of life,” she says. “I’m pretty much in full control of what I eat now.”
Barbara, from Mansfield, Notts, lost an amazing 84 pounds* with her Slimpod and her nurse has recorded her BMI dropping from 46 to 32. “For the first time in 15 years, I’ve been taken off my type 2 diabetes medication and I even completed the 2014 London Marathon!”
“Thank goodness I found out about Slimpods, because 35 years of dieting never made me lose weight. Now I have a new lease of life. This is a much more natural way of losing weight and less stressful than a diet. It’s as if something has reached in and turned down the volume on my appetite. It’s so liberating knowing that I’ll never have to diet again.
“For almost 40 years, since I was a child of eight, I’ve had massive problems with my weight. I would binge and diet, binge and diet, and decades of dieting achieved nothing because any weight I lost went straight back on again. My heaviest weight was 22 stone (308 pounds), a size 30, and life was becoming intolerable because I struggled to cut my toenails or put my shoes and socks on.
Thinking Slimmer founder Sandra greets Barbara at the Marathon finish line
“With my husband’s help I made a New Year resolution to make one last attempt at changing my eating habits and within six weeks I’d lost over a stone. But the urge to eat more was overwhelming and I started to wonder if gastric surgery was the only answer.
“Then one day I was Googling weight loss and I came across Slimpods mentioned on a weight loss support forum. Something just clicked, and I decided to give it a go. That day I weighed 20st 2lbs (282 pounds).
“Fifteen months later I’ve lost almost six and a half stone (84 pounds) and I’m a size 16.
“The effects of the Slimpod were dramatic – right away, I could hear the voice saying ‘one bite at a time’ whenever I ate something and ‘listen to the signal from your body that you’ve had enough to eat’.
“Within a few days I was leaving food on my plate, declining biscuits with no struggle at all, and soon had to give myself smaller portions. The Chocoholic Cure was amazing!! My capacity for chocolate used to be practically unlimited, but now I can go for days or weeks and not even think about it.
“Now I’m 14 stone (196 pounds), so that’s over six stone lost since I started listening to my Slimpods and 7 stone 7lbs (105 pounds) altogether. I no longer binge eat, seldom eat enough that I feel stuffed, and I find that I can enjoy small amounts of treats, which are treats and not a staple food which I eat lots of every day.
“After decades of clothes-shopping being a necessary evil when I would be grateful to find one or two things that would fit me, it has become a delight. I’m currently a size 16, and know the location of every charity shop within a 20 mile radius (as I’m going through sizes so quickly, it would be silly to buy new things all the time). Oh, and my husband has also lost over three and a half stone, and now has a healthy BMI.
“When I look at photos of how I used to be I am so grateful I’m not there any more. I’ve spent most of my adult life that size and I never felt that was who I really was. Being size 16 is brilliant, a new lease of life.
“As a teenager I had to wear size 20 at the age of 17 because that is what fat women wear. Places like Top Shop only went up to size 14 so I couldn’t shop for fashionable teenage clothes and was restricted to shops like Evans Outsize Store for 20 years.
“Suddenly with my new size I’m overwhelmed by colours and styles, not yet knowing who I am because I’ve not been able to develop a personal style before.
” Until now I just bought whatever clothes would hide the bulges. Today I have choice for the first time and exploring what works for me is both scary and wonderful at the same time.
“I’m pretty much in full control of what I eat now. I still have treats occasionally but I can say No to biscuits if I want to, or just restrict myself to one. My compulsion to keep eating sweet things until I’m full has gone now.
“Before I used to eat and eat until I was uncomfortably full, then I’d wait 30 minutes and eat again. Now I hear the message from the Slimpods that I’ve had enough.
“The Chocoholic Cure talks of me having the confidence I gain from saying No to chocolate and that’s so true. I’m a person who eats what I want to eat now and I’m delighted to have broken the eating habits which have dogged me since childhood.
“What’s good is that I’m not on a diet pursuing a particular weight. My aim is to be a size, not a weight, and I’m only eating what my body tells me it needs. This is a much more natural way of losing weight and less stressful than a diet
“I actually realised many years ago that diets don’t work and I’ve tried many alternative ways to lose weight, including counselling, but they only achieved temporary success.
“Today I am confident that my new shape and new confidence in myself is here to stay. The Slimpods have certainly had a positive effect on my health: I’ve recently been taken off my diabetes medication, my blood pressure has dropped to normal and my long-term blood sugars (HbA1C) have gone from a reading of 56 a year ago to 38 today, which my GP says is excellent control.”
